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I have full tuition scholarships at both IU Maurer and Minnesota, and assuming no other places come through with similar offers, I will in all likelihood be choosing between those two. My career goals are, on the one hand, to become an advocate for people with disabilities in whatever professional context pays at least some of the bills--I don't plan on getting rich doing this--and, on the other hand, to keep the possibility open of going into legal academia (I already have a PhD). IU has the edge from a regional perspective, since I currently live in Ohio, but from what I understand, Minnesota has an edge in rankings and a faculty with a somewhat higher scholarly reputation. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, especially from current students or alumni at either IU or Minnesota. Are both schools genuinely open to pursuing public interest? How hard is it to obtain funding for public interest externships? How cutthroat or not is the culture, and how proactive is the administration in addressing various problems or deficiencies? Also, how family friendly is either school and, perhaps more importantly, the surrounding area? I will be relocating with my wife, and although we do not currently have children, it would be nice to find a place at which being married and/or starting a family is not actively frowned upon. My understanding is that Bloomington is solidly oriented toward undergrads and their lifestyle, but I have also heard mixed reviews of the area around the U of MN. I plan on visiting both places before making this decision, but it would still be very helpful to have insider perspectives. Thank you.

Hmm, interesting. Neither school gives you a great shot at good legal academia options, really, but I guess it could happen. Any idea you can give us for where you would like to practice after graduation? I think that's probably going to be the major deciding factor.

I've visited both cities (didn't go to school in either one though) and didn't really notice anything that would lead me to believe one was less family/marriage friendly. I wouldn't make that too big of a factor in your decision. Sure, Bloomington is a college/undergrad town, but it isn't like you'll be looked down on for having a wife or, if you love suffering and decide to put that on yourself while going to law school, a kid. I promise plenty of non-college students live there.

Twin Cities are consistently ranked as one of the best places to have a family/great public education/etc.

Can't speak to IU Maurer.

Thanks for your advice. I'm not dead set on practicing in a specific state, though I would, if at all possible, like to stay in the Midwest for personal/family reasons. All things being equal, I would rather be in or somewhat near Ohio, but it is more important for me to find the type of work I want to do than to be in a specific city. In other words, if one school has a very strong public interest program and good track record placing people with government agencies or public interest organizations, that would be a definite plus. I am open to working for a firm as well, as long as I am in a position to do some amount of disability advocacy work. I hope that makes sense.

Do you want to do public interest work or do you want to be an academic?

BigZuck wrote:Do you want to do public interest work or do you want to be an academic?

If I have to choose, then public interest. Ideally, I would like to do both, as some law professors, in fact, do, but I know how tight the legal academic job market is and how hard it is to break into that market unless you go to Yale, Chicago, etc.

Megalopsuchos wrote:

BigZuck wrote:Do you want to do public interest work or do you want to be an academic?

If I have to choose, then public interest. Ideally, I would like to do both, as some law professors, in fact, do, but I know how tight the legal academic job market is and how hard it is to break into that market unless you go to Yale, Chicago, etc.

yeah you're almost certainly not going to become a law professor as a grad of either school.

But I would strongly advise UMN over IU. Minneapolis is a fantastic city, and you will be able to pretty easily commute to campus from a variety of family-friendly neighborhoods, and it's probably not a place you're going to want to leave after three years (no offense) coming from where you're currently at. Go visit if you have not yet been there. At IU, you will have a harder time escaping the undergrad scene, there is nothing to do there, and you're going to have to move your family again. Not gonna have a good time.

Law school enrollments are declining. Very few schools are hiring. A few are laying professors off. Its hard to see this changing in the foreseeable future. I wouldn't seriously consider this as a potential career, even if I got into Harvard. Maybe Yale is an exception? I'm not sure.

Megalopsuchos wrote:I have full tuition scholarships at both IU Maurer and Minnesota, and assuming no other places come through with similar offers, I will in all likelihood be choosing between those two. My career goals are, on the one hand, to become an advocate for people with disabilities in whatever professional context pays at least some of the bills--I don't plan on getting rich doing this--and, on the other hand, to keep the possibility open of going into legal academia (I already have a PhD). IU has the edge from a regional perspective, since I currently live in Ohio, but from what I understand, Minnesota has an edge in rankings and a faculty with a somewhat higher scholarly reputation. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, especially from current students or alumni at either IU or Minnesota. Are both schools genuinely open to pursuing public interest? How hard is it to obtain funding for public interest externships? How cutthroat or not is the culture, and how proactive is the administration in addressing various problems or deficiencies? Also, how family friendly is either school and, perhaps more importantly, the surrounding area? I will be relocating with my wife, and although we do not currently have children, it would be nice to find a place at which being married and/or starting a family is not actively frowned upon. My understanding is that Bloomington is solidly oriented toward undergrads and their lifestyle, but I have also heard mixed reviews of the area around the U of MN. I plan on visiting both places before making this decision, but it would still be very helpful to have insider perspectives. Thank you.

The area around UMN is fine, but it does get a little iffy a couple blocks from the law school. As people have said it is an easy commute to the law school from really great neighborhoods. I personally would pick UMN, but more of a decision about would you rather be in MPLS or Indianapolis after graduation. Probably a good idea to visit both and get a feel before deciding.

zombie mcavoy wrote:

Megalopsuchos wrote:

BigZuck wrote:Do you want to do public interest work or do you want to be an academic?

If I have to choose, then public interest. Ideally, I would like to do both, as some law professors, in fact, do, but I know how tight the legal academic job market is and how hard it is to break into that market unless you go to Yale, Chicago, etc.

yeah you're almost certainly not going to become a law professor as a grad of either school.

But I would strongly advise UMN over IU. Minneapolis is a fantastic city, and you will be able to pretty easily commute to campus from a variety of family-friendly neighborhoods, and it's probably not a place you're going to want to leave after three years (no offense) coming from where you're currently at. Go visit if you have not yet been there. At IU, you will have a harder time escaping the undergrad scene, there is nothing to do there, and you're going to have to move your family again. Not gonna have a good time.

Not sure "Nothing to do" is a good descriptor for Bloomington. Also, IU itself does have a strong undergrad atmosphere, that's fair, but there are plenty of places to live around (and in) Bloomington with an easy commute and no trace of IU. I'm not advocating for either school for OPs goals, but Bloomington is solid for the cost of living and for its location.

Indiana has a much closer connection to Ohio than Minnesota does. Why no Ohio State if you want to stay local?

Your odds of becoming a tenured law prof from either school is probably in the low single digits percentage-wise. That should be a non-factor for you.

romothesavior wrote:Indiana has a much closer connection to Ohio than Minnesota does. Why no Ohio State if you want to stay local?

Your odds of becoming a tenured law prof from either school is probably in the low single digits percentage-wise. That should be a non-factor for you.

Funny you should mention Ohio State; if I can get them to match IU's and MN's offer of full tuition, they probably would move to the top of the list. It does, however, strike me as a bit odd that they would not make such an offer up front, especially since I qualify for in-state tuition and thus come relatively cheap for them. Perhaps they're more tight-fisted with scholarship money than IU or MN.

Retake for T13 with $$$.
Gun to my head, UMN.

If you want to do public interest then UMN hands down. Lot of non profits in the Twin Cities. Its probably due to the "Minnesota Nice" culture.

Either way can't go wrong with either choice since they are both of no cost to you. I am assuming the stipulations are 2.0 or somewhere down there thus easy to maintain. If possible, I would try to visit the schools and do everything. Tour, Class visit, meeting with admissions,fin aid, career, and maybe walk around the general campus and check out what living conditions are like at grad housing and see what the "culture" is of the school.

Current IU Maurer student. Happy to take specific questions. I was faced with a similar decision. Ultimately I went with the school that sends more alumni to my preferred part of the country.